The Beatles Tell Their Story

Many families celebrated Thanksgiving with The Beatles this year.

The band made headlines last week with the re-release of The Beatles Anthology documentary on Disney+.

Like Get Back a few years ago, the re-release came over Thanksgiving weekend, when lots of families are eager for something to watch after a big meal.

It’s a band that broke up more than 50 years ago that got different generations to agree on what to put on TV.

That speaks to the staying power of the Beatles and the band’s unique story.

New technology provides new insights into various parts of that story, like isolating the band’s Shea Stadium performance to 50,000+ screaming fans. Anthology viewers can now hear that concert better than the people who were there in the audience.

So May I Introduce to You …

The original Anthology series was released in 1995 – closer to the breakup of The Beatles in 1970 than it is to today.

But the re-release offers another opportunity for the band to find a new audience. When the Beatles were together, it was albums, tours, movies and rooftop concerts that brought on Beatlemania.

In the decades since, it’s been re-releases, new tracks, documentaries, feature films, mash-up albums and even circus performances that have helped the band and its songs find new listeners.

There’s nostalgia for sure, but each new push gives new audiences a way to make a piece of The Beatles legend their own.

For Anthology, that unique element is getting to hear The Beatles story from the band members themselves. Per Ringo:

“We decided that we might try and do the definitive story of the Beatles. Seeing as other people had a go at it, we thought it might be good from the inside-out, rather than from the outside-in. We’ve heard it from everybody else—now you can hear it from us.”

The story will continue to grow. A series of four films – each following one Beatle – are slated for release in 2028.